Google Ads Introduces Brand Restrictions for Search and Performance Max Campaigns
Google Ads has announced the rollout of new brand settings for Search and Performance Max campaigns. These settings introduce two new brand controls: Brand Restrictions for Search Campaigns and Brand Exclusions for Performance Max Campaigns.
Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, explained the purpose of these features on Twitter. According to Marvin, one feature allows you to target only branded queries, while the other lets you exclude branded queries, providing greater control over the brands and products associated with your ads.
Brand Restrictions for Search Campaigns
The Brand Restrictions feature is designed to give advertisers the ability to use broad match keyword targeting while ensuring that it only matches with relevant brand traffic that the advertiser has specified. Historically, advertisers have used exact match and phrase match to adhere to specific brand needs. With this feature, Google says that advertisers can now use brand restrictions with broad match for additional reach and performance, while still meeting their specific brand needs.
To add brand restrictions to an existing Search campaign, advertisers can follow these steps:
- In the Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon.
- Click the Campaigns drop-down in the section menu.
- Click Campaigns.
- Below the “Campaign” page heading, click the Settings tab.
- Select the campaign you want to apply the brand list to.
- On the “Settings” page, scroll down to click Additional Settings.
- Click Brand Restrictions and select the brand list to apply to the campaign or click + New brand list and enter the brands you wish to restrict to this campaign.
- If the broad match keywords setting has not yet been applied, it can be done when saving the brand restrictions.
- Click Save.
Brand Exclusions for Performance Max Campaigns
In Performance Max campaigns, Google is also rolling out a feature that allows advertisers to exclude certain brands, rather than choosing which brands they want their ads to serve. Google explains that these exclusions provide added control so that Performance Max campaigns won’t serve for branded queries that advertisers want to avoid. This includes brand misspellings and brand searches in a foreign language. When a new brand is added to the list, it will automatically be available for the advertiser to use, but it will need to be verified before other advertisers can see it in the list.
To add a brand list to an existing Performance Max campaign, advertisers can:
- In the Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon.
- Click the Campaigns drop-down in the section menu.
- Click Campaigns.
- Below the “Campaign” page heading, click the Settings tab.
- Select the campaign you want to apply the brand list to.
- On the “Settings” page, scroll down to click Additional Settings.
- Click Brand Exclusions and select the brand list to apply to the campaign.
- Click Save.
Google is actively launching these features, and availability may vary. The company has not provided a complete timeline for the rollout, so it is recommended that advertisers regularly check their Google Ads accounts for access to these new features. This major update is expected to give advertisers more flexibility and control over their campaigns, allowing for more targeted advertising and potentially improved performance. It also underscores Google’s commitment to providing advertisers with more powerful and precise tools for managing their online advertising campaigns.
